BBQ Italian Meatballs. Meatballs are yummy little pains in the rump to make, but you can make up a ton at a time and tuck them away in the freezer. You only have one mess, and you can clean that up while they are in the oven. Yes. I mass-produce my meatballs and can fit 25 or more of them on a pan to bake in the oven, depending on their size. For the past years, I’ve made at least 50 Italian Meatballs for my family’s birthday party. I skipped a year and noticed that I had some pretty disappointed guests. That’s how I knew. Wow! These must be pretty good BBQ Italian Meatballs.
Amazing BBQ Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS:
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- ½ large yellow onion - chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 medium egg
- ¼ cup parsley - chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sometimes basil and parsley)
TO MAKE THE SAUCE:
- 1 cup ketchup (tomato sauce Australia and UK)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup yellow onion - chopped
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Mix well all the ingredients. Form into balls. Place on a non-stick foil-lined pan for easy cleanup. Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, depending on size. Most times, I undercooked and finished cooking the meatballs in the sauce. This improves the flavor of the meatball and the sauce.
- Cool, portion, bag, and freeze. I packaged up six to eight meatballs per meal and put them all in a zip-top bag. I realize this may seem skimpy to some, but with a nice bowl of pasta and a large salad, it will make a filling meal. Keep in mind that technically we are only to consume 3 ounces of meat at a time or a portion that is the size of a deck of cards.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients and heat the sauce in a saucepan. Add the meatballs to the sauce. I might just place the meatballs in the sauce and heat them after thawing them in the fridge.